Beverage preparation system

ABSTRACT

A beverage preparation machine permits automated preparation of a variety of beverages. A plurality of stations add ingredients to a beverage container and process the contents directly in the container in some embodiments. Parallel preparation of more than one beverage may be performed in some embodiments. A robotic arm moves the beverage container to the stations. The robotic arm may include a weight sensor as part of controlling the addition of ingredients.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/394,030, filed Sep. 13, 2016, the entire teachingsand disclosure of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

Various beverage preparation machines prepare different types ofbeverages that are ready to serve. For example, combination blender andice handling machines are often used to prepare frozen beverages. Othermachines mix flavored syrups with water and other ingredients to createvarious beverages.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, a beverage preparation machine includes afirst beverage preparation station configured to add an ingredient of afirst type to a liquid container, a second beverage preparation stationeither configured to add an ingredient of a second type to the containerand/or configured to process contents of the container, and a firstgripper configured to grip the container while the container is movedfrom the first station to the second station.

According to another embodiment, a beverage preparation machine includesa container repository configured to hold a plurality of containers forliquid, a first beverage preparation station configured to add aningredient of a first type to a container, a second beverage preparationstation configured to process contents of the container, and a containermover configured to remove the container from the first station, movethe container to the second station, and position the container withinthe second station at a location where processing components of thesecond station can process the contents of the container.

According to a further embodiment, a beverage preparation machineincludes a first beverage preparation station configured to add aningredient of a first type to a container, and a first gripperconfigured to grip and support the container while ingredients are addedto the container at the first station. The machine further includes arobotic arm configured to move the first gripper, wherein the roboticarm includes a weight sensor to measure a weight of the container whilethe grip supports the container.

According to yet another embodiment, a device includes a storage regionconfigured to hold a plurality of beverage containers that are stackedwithin one another, and an internal thread positioned at an end of thestorage region and sized to move a beverage container rim through thethread as the thread rotates. The device also includes a drive whichrotates the internal thread, wherein rotation of the internal thread byat least a threshold amount permits one of the beverage containers to bereleased from the internal thread.

According to another embodiment, a beverage preparation machine includesan ice source and an ice delivery chute having a longitudinal direction,the ice delivery chute positioned to convey ice along at least part ofthe distance between the ice source and a container. The machine alsoincludes a plurality of deflectors positioned within the ice deliverychute, each deflector being oriented such that a respective deflectionsurface is oriented transverse to the longitudinal direction of the icedelivery chute.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a beverage preparation machine according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the beverage preparation machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the beverage preparation machine with its outer housingremoved;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the beverage preparation machine shown in FIG.3;

FIG. 5 shows the beverage preparation machine of FIG. 3 with the icehopper removed;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the beverage preparation machineshown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the beverage preparation machine with portionsof the housing removed;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the beverage preparation machine with a toppanel removed;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the beverage preparation machine with componentsremoved to reveal container holders;

FIG. 10 shows a beverage container dispenser according to one aspect ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the beverage container dispenser shown inFIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the beverage container dispenser;

FIG. 13 is another perspective view of the beverage container dispenser;

FIG. 14 shows one embodiment of an ice hopper;

FIG. 15 is a top view of the ice hopper shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16A is a perspective view of an ice shaving assembly in a firstposition;

FIG. 16B is a perspective view of the ice shaving assembly and a secondposition;

FIG. 17A is a perspective view of a blending assembly shown in aretracted position;

FIG. 17B is a perspective view of the blending assembly shown in anextended position;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a beverage container support assembly;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of beverage container support assemblies;

FIG. 20A is a flow chart of one embodiment of operating a beveragepreparation machine;

FIG. 20B is a flow chart of one embodiment of operating a beveragepreparation machine;

FIG. 21 shows a robotic arm including a gripper according to oneembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 22 shows a gripper having a weight sensor arrangement according toone embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a side view of the gripper shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24A shows a component of a rotary beverage container dispenseraccording to one embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 24B shows the component of FIG. 24A from an opposite direction; and

FIG. 25 shows an ice chute according to one embodiment.

FIG. 26 shows a block diagram of the beverage preparation machine andsome of its electronic components.

FIG. 27 shows a screen displayed on the control panel or touch screenwith beverage parameters/options.

FIG. 28 shows a series of screens displayed on the control panel ortouch screen with beverage parameters/options.

FIG. 29A shows a flowchart for storing recipes on an electronic devicefor later use.

FIG. 29B shows a flowchart for storing recipes in a manner thatassociates specific recipes with specific persons.

FIG. 30 shows a flowchart for storing a customized recipe on thebeverage preparation machine and displaying the recipe at a later timefor reproduction.

FIG. 31 shows a block diagram of the beverage preparation machine andsome of its mechanical components.

FIG. 32 shows a control algorithm for producing a cubed ice beverage.

FIG. 33 shows a control algorithm for producing a shaved ice beverage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to beverage formation systems,which in some embodiments include a beverage preparation machine capableof preparing a beverage with limited or no user intervention. Forexample, in some embodiments, a user, such as a customer, may place anorder for a specific type and size of a beverage, and the beveragepreparation machine will position a cup, add ice and various otheringredients, blend the contents directly in the cup, and then presentthe prepared beverage to the user in a pickup area.

In some embodiments, a robotic arm grips and moves a beverage containeramong several stations to prepare the beverage. More than one beveragemay be prepared simultaneously in some embodiments. For example, while afirst cup is having its contents blended by a blending station, a secondcup may be receiving shaved ice at an ice station. Such an arrangementmay permit a set of beverages to be prepared more quickly than serialpreparation. In some embodiments, simultaneous preparation of multiplebeverages with a single machine may allow for a higher utilization ratefor various components of the machine.

Multiple robotic arms may be used in some embodiments, or a singlerobotic arm may be used to move the beverage containers through thebeverage preparation process.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a weight sensor may beincorporated within the robotic arm. In some cases, such an arrangementcan facilitate control of the addition of ingredients to the beveragecontainer. According to another aspect of the disclosure, the roboticarm could also include a volume sensor that measures an amount of liquidand/or ice inside the container.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a rotary cup dispensermay be employed. The dispenser may release one cup at a time from astack of nested cups by rotating the internal threads of an indexingwheel between cup rims.

The inventive concepts described herein can be implemented in any ofnumerous ways, and are not limited to any particular implementationtechniques. Thus, while examples of specific implementation techniquesare described below, it should be appreciated that the examples areprovided merely for purposes of illustration, and that otherimplementations are possible. Any of the subassemblies described hereinmay be used in other machines and in any suitable combination.

Turning to the figures, FIGS. 1-2 show a beverage preparation machine 10of one embodiment of the present disclosure. The beverage preparationmachine 10 includes a housing 12 that is designed to support the workingcomponents of the machine. In some embodiments, the housing 12 includesa frame that is fabricated from sheet metal, such as stainless steeland/or aluminum, suitable to protect the working components of themachine. The beverage preparation machine 10 may include a controller 17(see FIG. 3) which controls various operating assemblies and componentsof the machine. In some embodiments, the controller may be providedwithin a control panel or touch screen 14 on a front face of the housing12. During operation, a user may use the control panel or touch screen14 to select a particular type of beverage from various beverageoptions, which are described in more detail below. The beveragepreparation machine 10 may prepare the selected beverage without anyfurther user intervention in some embodiments.

Referring to FIGS. 3-9, the beverage preparation machine 10 may includeseveral major assemblies. For example, the beverage preparation machine10 shown in FIGS. 3-9 includes a container dispenser 16, which maydispense cups or other containers one at a time. The machine 10 alsoincludes a container movement and positioning assembly 18. A cubed icedispenser 20 is also included, as is an ingredient dispenser 22. Ashaved ice dispenser and blending assembly 24 is provided. A containerdelivery assembly 26 delivers the prepared beverage to the user.

Under the control of controller 17, the container dispenser 16 isconfigured to separate a single container 28 from a stack of containersand deposit the container to one of two container drop positions (seeFIG. 9). The container movement and positioning assembly 18 isconfigured to move the container 28 to the different stations of thebeverage preparation machine 10.

As will be discussed in greater detail below, the container movement andpositioning assembly 18 includes a robotic arm which includes a gripperto grasp the container 28, and moves the container within the machine 10among the different stations. The cubed ice dispenser 20 deposits cubedice into the container 28 based on one or more options selected by theuser. The ingredient dispenser 22 is configured to dispense one or moreingredients into the container 28 based on the one or more optionsselected by the user. The shaved ice dispenser and blending assembly 24is configured to dispense shaved ice into the container and to blend theingredients and shaved ice within the container 28. The containerdelivery assembly 26 is configured to present a prepared drink to theuser. For purposes herein, the ice and water are considered to be aningredient.

During beverage preparation, the container dispenser 16 deposits acontainer 28 to one of two positions 30, 32 associated with thecontainer movement and positioning assembly 18. In one mode ofoperation, in which the beverage preparation machine 10 prepares an icedbeverage, the container 28 is moved by the container movement andpositioning assembly 18 to a cubed ice drop position 34 in which thecubed ice dispenser 20 deposits cubed ice into the container. Next, thecontainer 28 is moved by the container movement and positioning assembly18 to one of two positions 36, 38 associated with the ingredientdispenser 22 to dispense flavored product or products into thecontainer. The container is moved by the container movement andpositioning assembly 18 to the container delivery assembly 26 at one ofthree positions 44, 46, 48 in which the container is positioned to beaccessible by the user. A user who retrieves the prepared beverage doesnot necessarily have to be the same user who input a beverage selectioninto the beverage preparation machine.

In another mode of operation, in which the beverage preparation machine10 prepares a blended frozen beverage, the container 28 is moved by thecontainer movement and positioning assembly 18 to one of two positions36, 38 associated with the ingredient dispenser 22 to dispense flavoredproduct or products into the container. Next, the container 28 is movedby the container movement and positioning assembly 18 to one of twopositions 40, 42 associated with the shaved ice dispenser and blendingassembly 24 to deposit shaved ice into the container and to blend theproduct(s) and shaved ice within the container. Once blended, thecontainer 28 is moved by the container movement and positioning assembly18 to the container delivery assembly 26 at one of the three positions44, 46, 48 in which the container is positioned to be accessible by theuser.

The controller may control the preparation of multiple beverages at thesame time. For example the controller may instruct the robotic arm tomove a first container from an ingredient addition station to a blendingstation, and while the first container is having its contents blended,the robotic arm may be moving a second container from a processingstation to a serving area Before the blending of the first container hasbeen completed, the robotic arm may move a third container to aningredient addition station. In this manner, the robotic arm may benearly continuously moving while multiple drinks are being prepared.

The beverage preparation machine embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1includes an ice hopper lid 50, which can be opened to enable the user todeposit cubed ice into an ice hopper associated with the cubed andshaved ice dispenser 20. The machine 10 further includes an ice levelwindow 52 to allow the user to check the ice supply level. The containerdispenser 16 is accessible at a front of the machine adjacent thecontrol panel or touch screen 14 to load containers such as cups. Thecontainer delivery assembly 26 delivers beverages to the user in auser-accessible region. An on/off switch 54 is provided on a side of thehousing 12 of the machine 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the machine furtherincludes an IEC connector 56, a plurality of ingredient inlet connectors58, and a drain port 60, each of which is described in greater detailbelow.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, and additionally to FIGS. 10-13, asmentioned above, the container dispenser 16 is supported by the housing12 of the machine 10 and configured to hold stacks of a stack ofcontainers and to dispense individual containers. In one embodiment, thecontroller controls the container dispenser 16. As shown, the containerdispenser 16 includes a support plate 62 secured to the housing 12 andtwo cylindrical tubes 64 a, 64 b mounted to the support plate. Each tube64 a, 64 b has a first open end 66 a, 66 b at the top of the tube toreceive a stack of containers and a second open end 68 a, 68 b (see FIG.13) at the bottom of the tube through which individual containers aredispensed. In some embodiments, one tube, e.g., tube 64 a, may include afirst size of cups, e.g., 12-ounce cups, and the other tube, e.g., tube64 b, may a second, different size of cups, e.g., 16-ounce cups. Inother embodiments, the container dispenser 16 may include additionaltubes provided to offer cups of additional sizes to the user.

For each of tubes 64 a, 64 b, the containers are prevented from slidingout of the second, open end of the tube by one of two rotary containerdispensers 70 a, 70 b. For example, rotary container dispenser 70 aincludes an internal screw thread which releasably engages a rim of thelowermost container within the stack of containers. As shown, for tube64 a, the rotary container dispenser 70 a is positioned on an uppersurface of the support plate 62 (FIG. 10), and for tube 64 b, the rotarycontainer dispenser 70 b is positioned on a lower surface of the supportplate (FIG. 13). Though the rotary container dispensers may bepositioned in any suitable manner.

Each rotary container dispenser 70 a, 70 b includes a gear assembly 72a, 72 b driven by an electric motor (e.g., motor 74 b for gear assembly72 b) mounted on the support plate 62. Each gear assembly 72 a, 72 b isconfigured to index a single container 28 within the tube 64 a, 64 b torelease the container. Once released, the container 28 travels through abottom portion of the tube 64 a, 64 b to a container yoke 76 a, 76 bpositioned underneath the bottom open end 68 a, 68 b of the tube. Foreach tube 64 a, 64 b, the container dispenser 16 further includes arefill detection switch 78 a, 78 b to detect whether the supply ofcontainers needs to be refilled. The container dispenser 16 furtherincludes a drop detection switch 80 a, 80 b to detect the presence ofthe container 28 within the container yoke 76 a, 76 b. Any suitablesensor may be used to detect the presence of the container to confirmthat the container has been placed.

Each container yoke 76 a, 76 b is sized to receive and support thecontainer deposited by its respective tube 64 a, 64 b. As shown, eachcontainer yoke 76 a, 76 b includes a curved structure having an inwardlyprojecting rim 82 a, 82 b sized to engage the rim of the container 28.The arrangement is such that when the lowermost container is lowered tothe container yoke 76 a, 76 b, the rotary container dispenser 70 a, 70 bengages a rim of a next lowermost container to maintain that containerin a supported position, thereby supporting the entire stack ofcontainers within the tube 64 a, 64 b. In another embodiment, eachcontainer yoke 76 a, 76 b may be designed to accommodate containers ofdifferent sizes. For example, each container yoke 76 a, 76 b may includespring-loaded fingers which are configured to grasp containers having avariety of different diameters. During the initiation of a dispenseoperation, the container dispenser 16, under the control of thecontroller, dispenses a single container 28, e.g., a disposable cup,into the container yoke 76 a, 76 b of the container dispenser. As shownin FIGS. 8 and 9, the containers are dropped into one of two containerdrop positions depending on which tube 58 a, 58 b is dispensing thecontainers.

Some embodiments of a rotary container dispenser include a rotating ring202 shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B. FIGS. 24A and 24B show the same ringfrom opposite sides. A gear assembly 72 a may be used to rotate ring202, though any suitable manner of rotating may be employed. The ringincludes an internal thread 204 with a leading edge 206. A stack ofcontainers, such as a stack of cups, are supported by the thread 204.When it is desired to dispense a cup, the ring rotates and leading edge206 travels between the upper rim of the bottommost cup and the rim ofthe cup stacked directly on top of the bottommost cup. As the ringcontinues to rotate, a leading ramp 210 of separation portion 212 pushesthe two cups apart and forces the bottommost cup to be release from thethread 204.

This rotary dispenser may be used in other systems or machines, and isnot limited to use with beverage preparation machines described herein.

According to some embodiments, container dispensers are used which arenot rotary dispensers. In still other embodiments, controlled dispensersare not used; instead, a user manually places cup at an initial station.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 9 the container movement and positioning assembly18 includes a robotic arm 84 rotatably coupled to the housing 12 by arotor assembly 86 such that the robotic arm rotates about a central axisA. The robotic arm includes a gripper 85 to move the container 28 withinthe machine 10. In one mode of operation, when preparing an icedbeverage, the container movement and positioning assembly 18 isconfigured to sequentially move the container 28 from the containerdispenser 16 to the cubed and shaved ice dispensing assembly 20, to theingredient dispenser 22, and to the container delivery assembly 26. Inanother mode of operation, when preparing a frozen beverage, thecontainer movement and positioning assembly 18 is configured tosequentially move the container 28 from the container dispenser 16 tothe ingredient dispenser 22, to the shaved ice dispensing and blendingassembly 24, and to the container delivery assembly 26. The gripper 85of the robotic arm 84 grips a portion of the container 28 below the rimof the container, though any suitable grip location or gripper may beused.

In some embodiments, the gripper 85 includes a pair of fingers 88, 90,which are moved toward and away from one another and radially in and outwith respect to the central axis A by a motor 92 linked to thecontroller. The fingers 88, 90 grip a body of the container 28 with aforce sufficient to support and move the container and its contents.During operation, for example when moving the container 28 from thecontainer dispenser 16 to the cubed and shaved ice dispensing assembly20, the fingers 88, 90 are moved away from each other and the roboticarm is extended from a retracted position to an extended position towardthe container. Once the fingers surround the container 28, the fingers88, 90 move toward one other to grip the container. The rotor assembly86 then rotates the robotic arm 84 from the existing station, e.g., thecontainer dispenser 16, to the next station, e.g., the cubed and shavedice dispensing assembly 20. This process is repeated to move thecontainer 28 from station-to-station until the beverage is prepared.

Referring to FIGS. 14, 15, 16A and 16B, the beverage container movementand positioning assembly 18 of the machine 10 is configured to move thecontainer 28 from the container dispenser 16 to the cubed and shaved icedispensing assembly 20. In some embodiments, the controller controls thecubed and shaved ice dispensing assembly 20, and the assembly 20includes an ice hopper 94 to hold cubed ice. The ice hopper 94 includesa bin 100 and a pair of rotatable tines, each indicated at 102, securedto the bin, with the tines being configured to rotate the cubed ice toprevent the cubed ice from jointing together to form large blocks ofice. In one embodiment, cubed ice can be manually deposited into the bin100 of the ice hopper 94 through the ice hopper lid 50. In anotherembodiment, an ice maker can be positioned above the machine 10 toprovide cubed ice automatically into the bin 100 of the ice hopper 94.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 15, when depositing cubed ice into the beveragecontainer 28 at the cubed ice drop position 34, the cubed ice may travelthrough a port 114 into a tube 112 and then into the container 28. Theice hopper 94 may be indexed in some embodiments to add precise amountsof cubed ice to the container 28. For example, a rotating agitator maybe configured to rotate by a specific angle to dispense a certain amountof ice from the ice hopper 94. In some embodiments, a sensor, such as aweight sensor, may sense the amount of ice in a container, and if moreice is desired, the controller may instruct the ice hopper to deliveranother indexed amount of ice.

In some embodiments, assembly 20 may be capable of providing shaved iceto the beverage container 28. The assembly may include an ice shaver 96which is positioned underneath the ice hopper 94 to deposit shaved iceinto the container through an exit port 98. As shown, cubed ice isdeposited into the ice shaver 96 through an opening 104 formed in thebin 100. The ice hopper 94 and the ice shaver 96 may be indexed toprovide precise amounts of shaved ice to the container 28 in someembodiments. Once ice reaches the ice shaver 96, the ice shaver shavesthe ice and deposits the ice in the container 28.

As shown in FIG. 8, the ice shaver 96 includes rotatable blades 106 thatare driven by a motor 108 under control of the controller. The shavedice is deposited into the container 28 by a chute 120 configured todirect the shaved ice into a container which is in one of two positions40, 42. To be able to dispense shaved ice into a container in either oftwo positions, the exit port 98 of the ice shaver is movable such thatit can align with either of a chute 120 of a first station or a chute120 of a second station. FIGS. 16A and 16B show the exit port 98 of theice shaver 96 in two different rotation positions. In a first position,the exit port 98 aligns with an ice chute of a first beverage station,while in a second position, the exit port 98 aligns with an ice chute ofa second beverage station. In some embodiments, the exit port 98 may bemovable into more than two different positions to dispense shaved iceinto containers at several different positions. In some embodiments,instead of rotating the exit port 98, the entire ice shaver assembly maybe rotated, or another approach to supplying shaved ice to multipledifferent positions may be employed.

The arrangement is such that the cubed and shaved ice dispensingassembly 20 is manipulated under the control of the controller todeposit cubed ice into the container 28 at the ice drop position 34 ordeposit shaved ice into the container when the container reaches theshaved ice dispensing and blending assembly 24 at the two positions 40,42 associated with the assembly 24. As with the amount of flavoringdispensed into the container 28, the amount of cubed ice or shaved icedeposited within the container may be selected based on the size of thecontainer and the types of flavors added to the container. In someembodiments, an amount of cubed ice or shaved ice may be determined byan amount of time the cubed and shaved ice dispensing assembly 20operates. In another embodiment, a weigh scale may be provided tomeasure the weight of the ice dispensed into the container 28 in amanner described below. When not operating, ice is retained within theice hopper 94 by the rotatable blades 106 of the ice shaver.

As described above, the ingredient dispenser 22 is configured todispense a quantity of a flavored product from among a variety offlavored products into the container 28. In some embodiments, theingredient dispenser 22 is controlled by the controller. The ingredientdispenser 22 may include a pump that is supported by the housing 12 andseveral tubes or lines that are coupled to the pump to deliver flavoredproduct to a nozzle. In a certain embodiment, containers of flavoredfluids or products may be provided at a remote location and connected toone or more nozzles via the inlet connectors 58. In another embodiment,the containers of flavored fluids or products may be disposed within themachine 10 or within a cooling unit upon which the machine 10 rests. Theflavor products may be stored in containers, with sensors being providedto indicate when a certain container is empty.

As best shown in FIG. 9, the ingredient dispenser 22 includes twodispense positions 36, 38 to deliver several different types of productto the container 28 when preparing a beverage. For example, theingredient dispenser 22 may be configured to dispense chilled flavoredfluid to the container 28 at dispense position 36. By moving thecontainer 28 with the container movement and positioning assembly 18 todispense position 38, the ingredient dispenser 22 may be configured todispense another chilled flavor fluid or some other product, such as aroom-temperature product or powdered product, into the beveragecontainer.

Referring to FIGS. 17A and 17B, the shaved ice dispensing and blendingassembly 24 includes a blender drive assembly 116 to drive the operationof blades 118 that are lowered into the beverage container 28 to blendthe flavored product and shaved ice in the container.

Although FIGS. 17A and 17B illustrate only one blender drive assembly116, the beverage preparation machine 10 could include a plurality ofblender drive assemblies 116.

As shown, an ice chute 120 may be positioned to add ice to the container28 with the container positioned in the blend position - withoutmovement of the blender drive assembly or the chute. For example, theice chute may be connected to the blender drive assembly such that iceexits an exit port 121 through which the blender blades 118 also exit.In this manner, the beverage preparation machine can direct ice (shaved,cubed, or other) from an ice source, such as the ice shaver 96, into thecontainer 28 simultaneous with the operation of a blending step (orother processing step).

The shaved ice dispensing and blending assembly 24 further includes afirst motor 122 coupled to a drive shaft 124 that supports the blades118. The first motor 122 is configured to rotate the drive shaft 124 ata speed to blend the container contents with the blades 118. The shavedice dispensing and blending assembly 24 may further include a secondmotor 126 coupled to a carriage 128 to move the drive shaft 124 (andtherefore the blades 118) up and down within the container 28.

FIG. 17A shows the blender drive assembly 116 in a raised position,prior to being lowered into the container 28. FIG. 17B shows the blenderdrive assembly 116 in a lowered position, with the blades 118 of theblender drive assembly 116 within the container 28 to perform a blendingoperation under the control of the controller. The arrangement is suchthat when the container 28 is positioned at the shaved ice dispensingand blending assembly 24, the blender drive assembly 116 is lowered byoperating the second motor 126. After blending, the blender driveassembly 116 is returned to its raised position, which removes theblades 118 from the container 28.

The entire assembly shown above the container in FIGS. 17A and 17B alsomay be raised and lowered. That is, FIG. 17A shows the assembly raisedsuch that the container 28 can be places under the assembly. Theassembly is then lowered to either contact the container, be in closeproximity to the container, or surround the rim of the container. FIG.17B shows the assembly lowered to meet the upper rim of the container28. A collar 131 may be pressed lightly against an upper rim of thecontainer 28, or a radially contracting caller may be used to latch onto the container 28.

With this arrangement, ice (whether cubed, shaved, or other) may beadded to the container simultaneously with blending of the containercontents. In some embodiments, instead of blending, other processing maytake place simultaneously with the addition of ice.

The shaved ice dispensing and blending assembly 24 may also include anozzle disposed within the drive shaft 124 of the blender drive assembly116. In one embodiment, nozzles are connected to a water supply 130provided within the housing 12 to perform a rinse and clean operationwithin the shaved ice dispensing and blending assembly 24, and a drainpan (see FIG. 9) is provided in the machine and to collect the rinsedwater from the housing. The drain pan may be configured to collectdrainage from the entire machine in some embodiments—including from eachbeverage station, the ice hopper, and any other portions of the machinethat may result in spilled or splashed liquid. During the rinse andclean operation, the drive shaft 124 and the blades 118 of the blenderdrive assembly 116 may be cleaned as well. Specifically, the blades 118may be moved downwardly, and water is dispensed from the nozzles toclean the blades of the blender drive assembly 116.

The water used to rinse the drive shaft 124 and the blades 118 of theblender drive assembly 116 drains through the drain port 60 provided inthe housing. In some embodiments, the nozzles may be positioned inside abase of the blender drive assembly 116 as a separate assembly. Whilewater is being applied to the drive shaft 124 and blades 118 forrinsing, the blades may simultaneously be spun to improve rinsingeffectiveness.

The beverage preparation machine may be configured to perform the rinseand clean operation described above automatically. For example, thecontroller 17 could control the nozzle to perform the rinse and cleanoperation every time after a beverage is prepared. Alternatively, thecontroller 17 could control the nozzle to perform the rinse and cleanoperation after a predetermined number (merely by way of example, five)of beverage preparation. Alternatively, the controller 17 could controlthe nozzle to perform the rinse and clean operation after apredetermined amount of time, such as every 24 hours.

Referring to FIGS. 18 and 19, the beverage preparation machine 10includes a plurality of container holders 132 which are configured tosupport a container at the positions 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46,48 described above. In the illustrated embodiment, the machine 10 mayinclude ten container holders 132. As shown, two container holders 132are provided at the container drop positions 30, 32 (see FIG. 9)underneath the container dispenser 16, one container holder 132 isprovided at the cubed ice drop position 34 underneath the cubed andshaved ice dispensing assembly 20, two container holders 132 areprovided at the ingredient dispenser positions 36, 38 underneath theingredient dispenser 22, two container holders 132 are provided at theat the blending positions 40, 42 underneath the shaved ice dispensingand blending assembly, and three container holders 132 are provided atpositions 44, 46, 48 at the container delivery assembly 26.

Each container holder 132 includes a container nest 134, which isdesigned to receive and support a container 28, and a container platformcover 136, which is designed to support the container nest and securedto the housing by a magnet.

Each container holder may include a weigh scale, which, in someembodiments, includes a load cell mount 138 and a load cell printedcircuit board 140 that is coupled to the controller. Each weigh scalemay be configured to support and sense a weight of the container 28 andthe contents therein. The arrangement may be such that when a container28 is placed on the container holder 132, the weigh scale is able toweigh the container to determine whether an appropriate amount of ice(cubed or shaved) and/or other ingredients have been deposited into thecontainer. Each container holder could also include a volume sensor thatmeasures an amount of liquid and/or ice inside the container.

In some embodiments, the controller is configured to control theoperations of the cubed and shaved ice dispensing assembly 20 and theingredient dispenser 22 through feedback provided by the weigh scale.For example, the ingredient dispenser may add an ingredient until theweigh scale indicates a pre-selected weight. In some cases, thepre-selected weight may be set as a total weight of the container andits contents as compared to a starting weight of zero. In otherembodiments, the pre-selected weight may be based on the starting weightof the container and its contents when the container arrived at theingredient dispenser. That is, the container may arrive with a weight of250 grams, and an ingredient may be added until the weight is 275 gramsfor an ingredient addition of 25 grams. If the container arrived at theingredient dispenser with a weight of 247 grams, the preselected weightat which to stop adding the ingredient may be set at 272 grams.

The weigh scale is coupled to the controller and measurements may bedisplayed on the control panel or touch screen 14 to inform the userthat the prepared beverage is ready or that an incorrect amount ofshaved or cubed ice or other ingredient has been added to the container.The weigh scale may measure weight or mass and be considered a weighscale or other type of weight sensor.

In some embodiments, the container delivery assembly includes aforwardly projecting platform 142 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) containing thethree container holders 132 positioned at positions 44, 46, 48 andseveral doors 144 provided at the front of the machine adjacent theplatform. The doors 144 may include a transparent or translucent panelto permit the user to view the interior of the machine. The doors 144may be hingedly connected to the housing 12 of the machine 10 to provideaccess to the interior of the dispenser. The doors 144 may be configuredto be maintained in closed positions, e.g., by a spring bias assemblyassociated with the doors. The doors 144 may be automatically opened bythe robotic arm 84 of the container movement and positioning assembly 18under the control of the controller in some embodiments. For example,arms 197, 198 (see FIG. 22) may be positioned to contact the inside ofthe doors and push them open when a beverage is being delivered. Inother embodiments, the doors 144 may be manually opened by the user,such as an operator or repair person, by applying an opening force tothe doors to overcome a force maintaining the doors in the closedposition. Sensors may be provided to determine whether the doors 144 arein the opened or closed position.

In some embodiments, one, some, or all of the doors may include a lockto prevent the doors from being opened by a user. For example, asolenoid lock may be used to keep the door locked until a controllerunlocks the door for beverage delivery.

While some embodiments illustrated herein show a radial arrangementwhere a centrally located robotic arm and gripper moves containersbetween container holders or stations that are radially positioned abouta pivot axis of the robotic arm, other arrangements are contemplated.For example, in some embodiments, container holders may be positionedlinearly and a gripper moves along a linear drive to pick and placecontainers. In other embodiments, containers may be held on a carousel,and the carousel may be rotated to position containers under differentstations, such as ingredient addition stations and beverage processingstations. In still further embodiments, containers may travel on aconveyor (whether linear or otherwise) between various stations.

FIG. 20A shows one embodiment of a control sequence for preparingbeverages. FIG. 20B shows embodiments of subroutines to complete stepsshown in the flow chart of FIG. 20A.

FIG, 32 illustrates a control algorithm for controlling the beveragepreparation machine to produced an iced beverage according to oneembodiment. one embodiment of a method of beverage preparation will nowbe described. The user may order a desired beverage to be prepared byembodiments of the machine 10 disclosed herein. The user may operate thecontrol panel or touch screen 14 to select a size of beverage to beprepared and the type or types of flavored products to be added to thebeverage.

When dispensing an iced beverage, a container 28 is deposited into oneof the two container drop positions 30, 32 in step 322. The container 28is deposited on the container holders 132 from the container dispenser16 and moved by the container movement and positioning assembly 18 tothe container holder associated with the cubed ice drop position 34 inwhich a predetermined amount of cubed ice is deposited into thecontainer in step 323. The weigh scale of the container holder 132 isprovided to facilitate the addition of a proper amount of cubed ice tothe container in step 324. Alternatively, the robotic arm 84 could weighthe amount of cubed ice added.

The robotic arm 84 of the container movement and positioning assembly 18is next rotated to a position in which the container 28 is placed oncontainer holder 132 at one of two positions 36, 38 associated with thecubed and shaved ice dispensing assembly 20, where a predeterminedamount of cubed ice is deposited into the container (step 323). Theweigh scale of the container holder 132 is provided as part ofcontrolling the amount of cubed ice deposited into the container.

Next, the robotic arm 84 moves the container 28 to one of the twopositions 36, 38 associated with the ingredient dispenser 22 in step325. At the ingredient dispenser 22, a predetermined quantity of aflavored product is dispensed into the container 28. The container isweighed by the weigh scale of the container holder 132 to help controlthe amount of flavored product or products being added to the containerin step 326.

Once a desired quantity of flavored product or products is dispensedinto the container 28, the robotic arm 84 moves the beverage containerto a container holder 132 at one of three positions 44, 46, 48associated with the container delivery assembly 26 where the useraccesses the prepared beverage in step 327. After the beverage isremoved, a rinse and clean operation may be initiated, eitherautomatically or under the control of the user via the control panel ortouch screen 14.

FIG. 33 illustrates a control algorithm for controlling the beveragepreparation machine to produced a blended beverage according to oneembodiment. A user first makes a selection on the beverage preparationmachine 10 by interacting with the control panel or touch screen 14 toselect a type of beverage, size, particular recipe, or select certainbeverage parameters in step 331. When dispensing a blended frozenbeverage, a container 28 is deposited into one of the two container droppositions 30, 32 in step 332. The robotic arm 84 of the containermovement and positioning assembly 18 is rotated to a position in whichthe container 28 is placed on a container holder 132 at one of twopositions 36, 38 associated with the ingredient dispenser 22 in step333. At the ingredient dispenser 22, a predetermined quantity of aflavored product is dispensed into the container 28 from a variety offlavored products (step 333). The container and its contents are weighedby the weigh scale of the container holder 132 to facilitate theaddition of a correct amount of flavored product or products (step 334).

Once a desired quantity of flavored product or products is added to thecontainer 28, the robotic arm 84 moves the beverage container to acontainer holder 132 at one of two positions 40, 42 associated with theshaved ice dispensing and blending assembly 24 in step 335, where shavedice is added. The amount of shaved ice that is added could be weighed bythe container holders 132 or the robotic arm 84 of the containermovement and positioning assembly 18 (step 336). Next, the contents aremixed in the container 28 by the blades 118 of the blender driveassembly 116 in step 337.

Once the beverage is prepared, in step 338, the robotic arm 84 of thecontainer movement and positioning assembly 18 moves the container 28 toa container holder 132 at one of three positions 44, 46, 48 associatedwith the container delivery assembly 26 where the user accesses theprepared blended frozen beverage.

In some embodiments, one or more sensors are provided to detect arotational position of the robotic arm during operation of the machine10. The sensors may embody an infrared detection system or any othersuitable type of sensor.

In some embodiments, an electronics enclosure may be provided to housethe electrical components of the machine 10, such as the controller.

FIG. 21 shows one embodiment of a robotic arm 150 which may be used withembodiments disclosed herein. The robotic arm 150 includes a base 152,an inner link 154, an outer link 156, and a gripper 185. The inner link154 rotates about a vertical axis B relative to the base 152. The outerlink 156 rotates about a vertical axis C relative to the inner link 154.The gripper 185 rotates about an vertical axis D relative to the outerlink 156. The axes of rotation do not necessarily need to be vertical.Other types of robotic arms or manners of moving beverage containers maybe used with embodiments disclosed herein.

With the arrangement shown in FIG. 21, the gripper 185 may be movedradially toward the base 152 to remove a beverage container from amachine station, and may be moved away from the base 152 to place abeverage container at a machine station. To move a beverage containerfrom one station to another, the robotic arm may be retracted from thestation, rotate about axis B, and then moved toward a subsequentstation. Gripper 185 is shown with two fingers 187, 189 to grip beveragecontainers, though any suitable gripping arrangement may be used. Insome embodiments, containers may be outfitted with an additional piecethat provides a convenient grip point for the gripper 185.

FIG. 22 shows the gripper 185 with a container support 190 that may beused to weigh the container and its contents. For example, as shown inFIG. 23, container support 190 is supported in part by a load cell 192and allowed to be depressed by the weight of a container via a pivotconnection 194 to the overall gripper assembly. By including a weightsensor within the robotic arm, the weight of the container and itscontents may be sensed continuously during the beverage preparationprocess in some embodiments. As compared to a beverage preparationmachine having a weight sensor at some or all of the various stations,the provision of a weight sensor within the robotic arm allows the sameweight sensor to be used after each station. In this manner, weightmeasurements throughout the process may be more consistent.

An ice chute arrangement which may be used with embodiments disclosedherein, or with other devices not disclosed herein, is shown in FIG. 25.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 25, an ice chute 209 has a longitudinaldirection 219 and includes deflectors 214 to slow the ice during itsmovement from an ice source to a beverage container or other container.By reducing the speed of the ice, splashing or spilling of ingredientsthat are already in the container may be reduced. Additionally, if cubedice is being moved into a container without liquid, a slower speed canreduce chipping of the ice.

Ice enters the chute 209 through an ice inlet 211 and exits the chutevia an ice outlet 217. Each deflector 214 includes a deflection surface(e.g., deflection surfaces 216,218) which the ice contacts as it fallsthrough the chute. The deflection surfaces are oriented to be transverseto the longitudinal direction 219, and may be angled downwardly and notperpendicular to the longitudinal direction so that the ice is notcompletely stopped with each drop to the next deflector. Each deflectormay be oriented in a different lateral position than the immediatelyprevious deflector. Such an arrangement allows the ice to contactmultiple deflectors during its path. For example, upper deflectionsurface 216 (relative to lower deflection surface 218) may pointdownwardly and to the right in the view of FIG. 25, and lower deflectionsurface 218 may point downwardly and to the left. The deflectionsurfaces do not need to point in opposite directions to be considered ashaving different directions. For example a deflection surface couldpoint into the drawing sheet in the view of FIG. 25.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 26-30. FIG. 26 shows a block diagramof certain electronic components included in the beverage preparationmachine 10. However, these components are exemplary and some of thesecomponents could be omitted. The beverage preparation machine 10includes additional mechanical components, as shown in other figures. Asshown in FIG. 26, the beverage preparation machine 10 (also referred toherein as “the system” in some cases) may store recipes in a memory orstorage 261 located inside the housing 12. The user could then browse alist of recipes retrieved from the memory or storage 261, and displayedon the control panel or touch screen 14, and select one of the recipesfor preparation by the beverage preparation machine. Additionally oralternatively, the beverage preparation machine could access a list ofrecipes stored in a remote location, such as a remote server 265performing cloud computing functions or providing services on demand.For example, the beverage preparation machine could include wirelesscommunication circuitry 263 for connecting to the internet via Wi-Fi,3G, 4G LTE, millimeter waves, or other wireless communication protocols.The beverage preparation machine could then connect to a remote server265 that stores recipes, download the recipes to the memory or storage261, and display at least one of the downloaded recipes on the controlpanel or touch screen 14 for user selection. After a user selects aparticular recipe on the control panel or touch screen 14, the beveragepreparation machine can produce the selected beverage.

The beverage preparation machine 10 may also include an optical cardscanner 262 that can scan a barcode located on a plastic card, whereindividual consumers are assigned a specific card with a specificbarcode number.

The beverage preparation machine could also receive recipes (orinstructions to download recipes) from a user's electronic device 267,such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop computer, desktop computer,wearable electronic device, etc that includes wireless communicationcircuitry for communicating with the beverage preparation machine 10.For example, a user could browse a list of recipes displayed on theelectronic device 267, select a particular recipe, and then control theelectronic device to either transmit the selected recipe to the beveragepreparation machine, or control the electronic device to send aninstruction to the beverage preparation machine to download the selectedrecipe from a remote location such as a remote server. In someembodiments, the user could download an app to the electronic devicethat includes predetermined recipes. The ability to access recipesstored in a remote location (such as remote server 265 or electronicdevice 267) expands the range of beverages that the beverage preparationmachine can produce.

Referring to FIG. 26, the beverage preparation machine 10 could alsoinclude a point of sale system 264 that is either integrated with thebeverage preparation machine, or remotely located with respect to thebeverage preparation machine. If the point of sale system is remotelylocated, the point of sale system could include wireless communicationcircuitry for communication with the beverage preparation machinewireles sly, and the beverage preparation machine could include similarwireless communication circuitry. The system may be configured so thatthe beverage preparation machine prepares a beverage automatically afterpayment has been processed by the point of sale system. For example, ifa user pays for a vanilla smoothie, after payment is confirmed, thebeverage preparation machine can prepare the vanilla smoothie accordingto a predetermined recipe, automatically and without further user input.

The point of sale system 264 could comprise a credit card reader such asa reader that is configured to read magnetic stripes, or a reader thatis configured to read chip and pin type credit cards, or both. The pointof sale system could also include a display and a numeric keypad forentering PIN numbers. The point of sale system could also include a cardscanner that is capable of scanning a loyalty card that a bar codeimprinted onto the loyalty card. The loyalty card may have a serialnumber, and the memory or storage may include a database that associatesserial numbers with specific customers and/or specific customeraccounts.

Referring to FIG. 27, a the control panel or touch screen 14 may displaya user interface that allows a user to select at least one of: a type ofbeverage 271, a size of the beverage 272, at least one of a plurality offlavors 273, amounts of various ingredients in the beverage 274, andtypes of ice, and/or amounts of ice 275. The control panel or touchscreen 14 may display the type of beverage, size, flavor, iceamounts/types, and ingredients on a single screen, as shown in FIG. 27.

As shown in FIG. 27, a user may select a variety of types of beveragesfor the beverage preparation machine to produce on screen 271. Forexample, a user may select a blended beverage, or an iced beverage thatincludes cubed or shaved ice, or a beverage that is both blended andincludes cubed or shaved ice, by interacting with the control panel ortouch screen 14. A user could also select a recipe that is stored in thememory or storage 261.

Referring to FIG. 27, a user may also select a size of a drink on screen272. In one embodiment, the beverage preparation machine can providesmall, medium, or large size beverages. In another embodiment, a usermay select a beverage of a specific quantity, such as 12 fluid ounces,16 fluid ounces, or 20 fluid ounces. The sizes available to the user maycorrespond to the size of cups that are stored inside the beveragepreparation machine. For example, if the beverage preparation machinestores 8 ounce cups and 10 ounce cups, the control panel or touch screen14 can display options for an 8 ounce beverage and a 10 ounce beverage.

Referring to FIG. 27, a user may also select at least one of a pluralityof flavors on screen 273. As described in further detail below, theingredient dispenser 22 is configured to dispense one or moreingredients into the container 28. These ingredients may be flavored.The flavor products may be stored in containers. Merely by way ofexample, the containers could store flavors such as chocolate flavor,vanilla flavor, and raspberry flavor. As a result, a user could create abeverage that includes chocolate flavor, or chocolate flavor incombination with raspberry flavor. Other flavor combinations arepossible. As long as the beverage preparation machine has the flavorsstored inside, a user could create a beverage that includes any numberof combinations of the stored flavors.

Referring to FIG. 27, a user may also control an amount of variousingredients that are added to a beverage on screen 274. For example,suppose a user selects a recipe stored in a memory or storage. If therecipe comprises ingredients A, B, and C, the user may wish to increasean amount of ingredient C, if the user has a particular taste foringredient C. Alternatively, the user could decrease an amount ofingredient C, if the user dislikes ingredient C. According to anotherembodiment, the user could increase or decrease an amount of sugar inthe prepared beverage.

Referring to FIG. 27, a user may also control an amount or type of icethat is added to a beverage on screen 275. For example, the beveragepreparation machine can produce shaved ice or dispense cubed ice. A usercould select one of these ice types and control the beverage preparationmachine to add one of these types of ice to the beverage being produced.Additionally, the user could control an amount of shaved or cubed icethat is added to the beverage being produced. For example, a user couldselect a small, medium, or large amount of shaved or cubed ice.Alternatively, the user could select a specific quantity of shaved orcubed ice, such any value between 4-8 ounces, though other specificamounts of ice are feasible.

In some embodiments, the beverage preparation machine couldautomatically determine an amount of cubed or shaved ice to add, basedon the size of the beverage that is selected by the user, and/or othervariables such as the type of beverage, the specific recipe that isselected, and/or ingredient levels. In order to facilitate automaticallycalculating ice amounts, the memory or storage 261 could include adatabase that includes specific amounts of ice for various beverages oringredient combinations. For example, a medium beverage according torecipe A may require 4 oz. of shaved ice. A large beverage according torecipe B may require 6 oz. of cubed ice. Alternatively, the beveragepreparation machine could simply automatically dispense an amount ofcubed or shaved ice based on the size of the container. For example, alarge beverage could require 8 ounces of cubed or shaved ice, and asmall beverage could require 4 ounces of cubed or shaved ice.

Referring to FIG. 28, the control panel or touch screen 14 could alsodisplay the type of beverage 281, the size of the beverage 282, at leastone of a plurality of flavors 283, the amounts of various ingredients inthe beverage 284, the types of ice, and/or amounts of ice, et cetera285, and the recipe save option 286 in a full screen mode, on differentscreens sequentially, so as to guide a user through various steps ofbeverage creation/recipe modification. It may be advantageous to provideeach set of options on different screens that are shown sequentiallywhen the display is somewhat small. For example, if the display isrelatively small, the display would have to show the layout in FIG. 27in a very small font in order to fit all options on a single screen. Asa result, the display could show only one of each set of options at atime, in a full screen mode, in a larger font that is more readable, andprogress to the next set of options after a user makes a selection.

Although FIGS. 27 and 28 illustrate the control panel or touch screen 14on the beverage preparation machine displaying the beverage options fora user, the beverage options could also be displayed on the electronicdevice 267. In such a case, the electronic device 267 would be incommunication, preferably wirelessly, but potentially via wires, withthe beverage preparation machine. The user would go through the menusshown in FIG. 27 or 28, and the electronic device would transmitinstructions to the beverage preparation machine to produce the desiredbeverage. Thus a user could create the beverage by interacting primarilywith the electronic device 267 rather than the beverage preparationmachine 10.

Referring to FIG. 29A, the system can also store customized beveragerecipes on an electronic device owned by a user. The advantage of thisfeature is that a user can prevent the need to recreate a customizedrecipe form scratch each time the user wishes to consume the customizedrecipe. As shown in FIG. 29A, in step 291, a user can first interactwith the beverage preparation machine 10 by selecting/inputting at leastone of a type of beverage, a size of the beverage, at least one of aplurality of flavors, amounts of various ingredients in the beverage,and types of ice/amounts of ice, as described above. Subsequently, instep 292, the system can then transmit the beverage recipe derived fromthe user input to an electronic device via wired or wirelesscommunication (See FIG. 26). Subsequently, in step 293, the electronicdevice can store the beverage recipe. Subsequently, in step 294, at alater time, a user can control the electronic device to transmit thepreviously created beverage recipe to the beverage preparation machine10. In such a case, the user does not need to enter in all of thepreviously selected beverage parameters (type of beverage, size, etc.).Instead, the beverage preparation machine 10 can begin producing thebeverage after receiving the beverage recipe from the electronic device.

Referring to FIG. 29B, the system can also store customized beveragerecipes that are associated with specific customers. In this embodiment,the system includes an optical card scanner 262 (see FIG. 26) that canscan barcodes. When a user approaches the system, the user presents aloyalty card so that the scanner can read the barcode on the loyaltycard. The system includes stored information that corresponds theinformation on the barcode with a specific person. In this manner, thesystem can identify the person who presents the loyalty card in step294. Subsequently, the user can input/select at least one of a type ofbeverage, a size of the beverage, at least one of a plurality offlavors, amounts of various ingredients in the beverage, and types ofice/amounts of ice in step 295. Subsequently, the system can store abeverage recipe derived from the user input, and associate the recipewith the identified person in step 296. As a result, the next time theuser interacts with the system, the user will again present the loyaltycard for scanning by the optical card scanner 262. The system can then,in step 297, display the stored customized beverage recipe for the user,so that the user can consume/produce the customized beverage withouthaving to recreate the beverage from scratch or enter in the same inputsa second time. This saves time and increases convenience.

Referring to FIG. 30, the beverage preparation machine 10 may also storecustomized recipes created by a user. For example, a user first selectsat least one of a type of beverage, a beverage size, at least oneflavor, ice amounts/type, and/or an amount of an ingredient in step 301.Subsequently, the user may select a button (276 in FIG. 27, 286 in FIG.28) on the control panel or touch screen 14 that saves/stores thecustomized recipe to the memory or storage 261 located inside thehousing 12 in step 302. In step 302, the user could also assign a nameto the saved customized recipe, such as “Special Smoothie.” The controlpanel or touch screen 14 could also display a keyboard to facilitateentering in a specific name for the customized recipe in step 302.

In step 303,. the system can display the stored/saved beverage recipe ata later time, so that a user would then be able to control the beveragepreparation machine to produce the customized recipe more quickly bysimply selecting the saved customized recipe entitled “Special Smoothie”(see FIGS. 27 and 28) from a menu on the control panel or touch screen14, rather than going through the process of re-creating the user'spreferred beverage from scratch each time the user wishes to consumetheir customized beverage.

Alternatively, the user could access recipes that are locally stored inthe beverage preparation machine, modify the aspects of the recipes tosuit the user's particular preference, such as ingredient levels, or icetypes/amounts, and store the modified recipe in the memory or storage.

FIG. 31 illustrates a block diagram of certain mechanical components ofthe beverage preparation machine 10. However, these components areexemplary and some of these components could be omitted. The containerdispenser 16, the container movement assembly 18, the cubed icedispenser 20, the shaved ice dispenser 24, the ingredient dispenser(s)20, the blender assembly/assemblies/ 116, ice hopper 94, and containerholders 132 have all been previously described.

The beverage preparation machine 10 may include an icemaker 311, whichgenerates ice for the cubed ice dispenser 20 and the shaved icedispenser 24. The icemaker could be located on top of the beveragepreparation machine 10 so that ice could be routed to either the cubedice dispenser 20 or the shaved ice dispenser 24.

The beverage preparation machine 10 may include a refrigerator enclosure312. The refrigerator enclosure could be located beneath the othercomponents of the beverage preparation machine 10 so to form arefrigerated base. The refrigerator enclosure 312 could store chilledingredients or prepared beverages after production.

The controllers of the above-described embodiments can be implemented inany of numerous ways. For example, the embodiments may be implementedusing hardware, software or a combination thereof. When implemented insoftware, the software code can be executed on any suitable processor orcollection of processors, whether provided in a single computer ordistributed among multiple computers. It should be appreciated that anycomponent or collection of components that perform the functionsdescribed above can be generically considered as one or more controllersthat control the above-discussed functions. The one or more controllerscan be implemented in numerous ways, such as with dedicated hardware, orwith non-dedicated hardware (e.g., one or more processors) that isprogrammed using microcode or software to perform the functions recitedabove.

In this respect, it should be appreciated that one implementationcomprises at least one computer-readable storage medium (i.e., at leastone tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium, e.g., a computermemory (e.g., hard drive, flash memory, processor working memory, etc.),a floppy disk, an optical disc, a magnetic tape, or other tangible,non-transitory computer-readable medium) encoded with a computer program(i.e., a plurality of instructions), which, when executed on one or moreprocessors, performs above-discussed functions. The computer-readablestorage medium can be transportable such that the program stored thereoncan be loaded onto any computer resource to implement functionalitydiscussed herein. In addition, it should be appreciated that thereference to a computer program which, when executed, performs theabove-discussed functions, is not limited to an application programrunning on a host computer. Rather, the term “computer program” is usedherein in a generic sense to reference any type of computer code (e.g.,software or microcode) that can be employed to program one or moreprocessors to implement above-discussed techniques.

The phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” andvariations thereof, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafterand additional items. Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,”“third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not byitself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim elementover another or the temporal order in which acts of a method areperformed. Ordinal terms are used merely as labels to distinguish oneclaim element having a certain name from another element having a samename (but for use of the ordinal term), to distinguish the claimelements.

Several embodiments having been described in detail, variousmodifications and improvements will readily occur to those skilled inthe art. Such modifications and improvements are intended to be withinthe spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoingdescription is by way of example only, and is not intended as limiting.

1. A beverage preparation machine comprising: a first beveragepreparation station configured to add an ingredient of a first type to acontainer; a second beverage preparation station either configured toadd an ingredient of a second type to the container and/or configured toprocess contents of the container; a first gripper configured to gripthe container while the container is moved from the first station to thesecond station.
 2. The beverage preparation machine as in claim 1,further comprising a robotic arm which moves the first gripper to movethe container from the first station to the second station.
 3. Thebeverage preparation machine as in claim 2, wherein the robotic armincludes a weight sensor to weigh the container and contents of thecontainer.
 4. The beverage preparation machine as in claim 2, whereinthe robotic arm comprises articulated sections.
 5. The beveragepreparation machine as in claim 2, further comprising third and fourthbeverage preparation stations, wherein the first, second, third, andfourth beverage preparation stations are arranged relative to therobotic arm such that the first gripper can reach a container in each ofthe of the first, second, third, and fourth stations.
 6. The beveragepreparation machine as in claim 1, wherein the second station isconfigured to process contents of the container, and further comprisinga third beverage preparation station, the third station configured toprocess contents in the container.
 7. The beverage preparation machineas in claim 1, wherein the second station includes blender blades whichare insertable into the container.
 8. The beverage preparation machineas in claim 1, further comprising a serving station which permits useraccess to the container, wherein the first gripper is configured to movethe container to the serving station.
 9. The beverage preparationmachine as in claim 1, wherein the first station comprises an iceaddition station.
 10. The beverage preparation machine as in claim 1,wherein the first station includes a first weight sensor to weigh thecontainer and the contents of the container, and the second stationincludes a second weight sensor to weigh the container and the contentsof the container.
 11. (canceled)
 12. The beverage preparation machine asin claim 3, wherein the first gripper is configured to grip and supportthe container while ingredients are added to the container at the firststation; and wherein the weight sensor is configured to weigh thecontainer and the contents of the container while the first grippersupports the container.
 13. The beverage preparation machine as in claim12, wherein the second beverage preparation station is configured to addan ingredient of a second type to the container and configured toprocess contents of the container.
 14. A beverage preparation machinecomprising: a container repository configured to hold a plurality ofcontainers for liquid; a first beverage preparation station configuredto add an ingredient of a first type to a container; a second beveragepreparation station configured to process contents of the container; acontainer mover configured to remove the container from the firststation, move the container to the second station, and position thecontainer within the second station at a location where processingcomponents of the second station can process the contents of thecontainer.
 15. The beverage preparation machine as in claim 14, furthercomprising: an ice source; an ice delivery chute having a longitudinaldirection, the ice delivery chute positioned to convey ice along atleast part of a distance between the ice source and a container; aplurality of deflectors positioned within the ice delivery chute, eachdeflector being oriented such that a respective deflection surface isoriented transverse to the longitudinal direction of the ice deliverychute.
 16. (canceled)
 17. (canceled)
 18. (canceled)
 19. The beveragepreparation machine according to claim 14, further comprising acontroller and a display configured to display a plurality of beveragepreparations options to a user, including at least one of a type ofbeverage and a size of the beverage.
 20. The beverage preparationmachine according to claim 19, where the plurality of beveragepreparation options further comprise one or more of a flavor, aningredient amount, a type of ice, and an amount of ice.
 21. (canceled)22. The beverage preparation machine as in claim 1, further comprising:a storage region configured to hold a plurality of beverage containersthat are stacked within one another; an internal thread positioned at anend of the storage region and sized to move a beverage container rimthrough the thread as the thread rotates; a drive which rotates theinternal thread, wherein rotation of the internal thread by at least athreshold amount permits one of the beverage containers to be releasedfrom the internal thread. 23 (canceled) 24 (canceled)
 25. (canceled) 26.A beverage preparation machine comprising: a plurality of stations,comprising: one or more container supply stations for storing aplurality of containers; one or more beverage preparation stations,including an ingredient dispensing station and a processing station, theprocessing station comprising a blade to mix or blend ingredients withinthe containers; one or more cleaning stations to clean the blade; andone or more user accessible stations for accessing a prepared beverage,wherein the plurality of stations are disposed in a generally circulararrangement; a robotic arm, rotatable about an axis within the circulararrangement; and a gripper at a distal end of the robotic arm, whereinthe robotic arm and the gripper are configured to selectively positionthe containers at one or more of the plurality of stations.
 27. A methodof operating the beverage preparation machine as in claim 26, comprisingselecting a type of beverage to be prepared; moving a container with therobotic arm from the one or more container supply stations to theingredient dispensing station and dispensing an amount of an ingredientin the container, the amount determined by volume or weight; moving thecontainer with the robotic arm to the processing station and processingthe ingredient with the blade; and moving the container with the roboticarm from the processing station to one of the one or more useraccessible stations.
 28. The method according to claim 27, wherein theamount of the ingredient is determined by weighing.